All facilities in northern Illinois that discharge into the Pecatonica River Watershed should attend an important public meeting. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will hold the meeting concerning new discharge limits in Jo Daviess, Carroll, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.

Fehr Graham, Confluence and Martin Garden Architecture are working with the Manchester, Iowa, officials to develop the next phase for the city's Whitewater Park. The project team is developing land in downtown Manchester for a new entrance to the whitewater park, which was built in 2015.

The city of Villa Grove, Illinois, hired Fehr Graham to design and build an Emergency Services Center. The city tore down the old fire station to make way for a new water treatment plant designed by Fehr Graham.

According to a study published by the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research and Iowa Flood Center, both entities of the University of Iowa, the state ranks at the top 45th percentile for Federal Emergency Management Association disaster declarations for floods.

Jason Stoll, who joined Fehr Graham in November 2016, has extensive experience in municipal and site development engineering. His strengths include water distribution systems, sanitary sewer collection systems, pedestrian walking and riding facilities, and local road design. The Byron native was promoted from his senior project manager position to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Rochelle office.

Fehr Graham and city of Rockford honored for public-private partnership

Fehr Graham and the city of Rockford’s Water Division received a Rockford Chamber of Commerce Confluence Honor award for their public-private partnership. This partnership is among 21 recognized as part of a new initiative by the chamber.

Two Fehr Graham projects won 2018 ACEC-Iowa Engineering Excellence Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa. The Allamakee County Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing, Iowa, was awarded the prestigious Honor Award. The building, adjacent to the Mississippi River, is a tribute to the unique land, water and history surrounding it. Fehr Graham also awarded an Achievement Award in the Transportation category for a site expansion for Martin Brothers Distributing Co. in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Furst-McNess Co. and Fehr Graham were awarded a 2018 ACEC-IL Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. Furst-McNess hired Fehr Graham to clean up one of its properties, the former WEK Holdings LLC site, in Freeport, Illinois. The effort won a Merit Award in a new nomination category – Environmental. Fehr Graham assessed and remediated the site since 2003.

After nearly three decades with Fehr Graham, Todd Weegens is retiring. His last day is New Year's Eve, which also is his birthday. Weegens joined Fehr Graham in April 1990 and became an owner two years later. He has served as managing member the last 10 years. He is credited with establishing Fehr Graham's presence in the wind energy and renewable energy sectors.

In the last two years, the village of Shannon has been confronted with water system problems. It was discovered through routine state compliance sampling the village’s water contained elevated amounts of Radium 226/Radium 228 and Gross Alpha beyond Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) limits. Fehr Graham, which was already working with the village, stepped in to help investigate and address the IEPA compliance issues. Fehr Graham also helped Shannon apply and secure a $4.03 million IEPA loan.

Zac Gill, village engineer for Roscoe, Illinois, introduced a road restoration process option for a segment of frontage road parallel to Illinois Route 251. More than 4,200 feet of roadway segment is rehabilitated through this process, which saves the village money by using less furnished materials.

Six students from West Delaware High School and South Winneshiek High School hit the road to visit Manchester, Iowa, office. First, the students met with our engineering, global information systems and project support teams. Fehr Graham engineers Brian McWilliams and Tyler Olson took the kids to visit a few sites.

The Manchester White Water Park, open 24 hours a day, provides a place for visitors to enjoy outdoor adventure year-round. Since its opening in May 2015, the park attracts recreational enthusiasts from Iowa and beyond.

Matt Dahlem, a project manager and senior engineering hydrogeologist, was re-elected as director at large on the American Society of Civil Engineers Wisconsin Section Board of Directors. Dahlem works in Fehr Graham’s Plymouth, Wisconsin, office.

Fehr Graham Engineer Seth Gronewold climbs the Winnebago, Illinois, water tower with Chad Insko, village public works director. The water tower has a 200,000 gallon capacity for village drinking water.

The Journal-Standard of Freeport wrote an article about Pearl City's plans to use federal grant money to demolish commercial and residential properties affected by flooding. Fehr Graham is the village's engineer and helped secure money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

In collaboration with the city of Champaign, Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District, Champaign Park District and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Fehr Graham integrated variable-capacity collection infrastructure for long-term growth in the heart of campustown

This evening, Fehr Graham hosted its annual Illinois Municipal League Client Appreciation Reception at London House in Chicago. For the last decade, Fehr Graham has celebrated its Illinois municipal clients the week of the Illinois Municipal League tradeshow.

Stanley Street Pumping Station will get a building addition that houses a radium filtration system. This helps the city of Rockford maintain the highest-quality water standards in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Del Monte Cannery #108 in Cambria, Wisconsin, is redesigning and expanding its wastewater system. The plant, which processes canned vegetables, will use a new 205-acre spray pivot system to manage can cooling and process wastewater.

Illinois is the biggest producer of soybeans, corn and swine. It is important we improve rural communities that drive this the $19-billion-a-year industry, according to figures provided by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Ever wonder what’s beneath that small hole in the road? You might be surprised.
Urbana’s Public Works Department collaborated with Fehr Graham to repair a damaged section of a failed storm sewer just north of downtown Urbana, Illinois.

The Rockford (Illinois) Public Library is moving to a temporary location to allow for clean up at its main site. Joel Zirkle, Fehr Graham owner and branch manager of the Rockford office, shares in the September issue of Renewal Redevelopment how his team helped library officials navigate the process.

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Gregg Breese as senior environmental scientist in our Plymouth, Wisconsin, office. Breese brings with him 20 years of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource experience and vast expertise in wetlands, stormwater and local zoning.

What you need to know about the Grant Accountability
and Transparency Act

Does your municipality rely on Motor Fuel Tax distributions? If so, this message is for you.

The Illinois Department of Transportation recently circulated a letter requiring all Illinois counties and municipalities that recieve distributions register with the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act.

Americold recruited Fehr Graham to help with civil design for its cold storage warehouse expansion. Truck and employee entry will be improved with a new access point, parking lot and truck drop. Because Rochelle is "Hub City," rail access is a key part of the expansion. Rail track access to the building is included in the design.

Dubuque, Iowa, is no stranger to commercial growth. This quaint, growing city located along the Mississippi River is home to nearly 60,000 residents. Retail and tourism is a big driver of the local economy.

The new structure that connects Savanna, Illinois, and Sabula, Iowa, received its final piece of the puzzle today. Kraemer North America, general contractor, installed the last main bridge piece in Savanna. The existing bridge, classified as structurally deficient and once called "treacherous" in a news article, lies just 100 feet north of the new bridge.

Evan Arachikavitz spent his summer with Fehr Graham's Freeport office as an intern. The Freeport High School graduate is pursuing a degree in occupational safety at Illinois State University. Much of his internship was spent at Fehr Graham client Honeywell learning many aspects of our safety business.

We're sending students back to school with a smooth ride. Heartland Asphalt from Mason City, Iowa, helped resurface the north drive and parking area for Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District in Rockford, Iowa.

As Fehr Graham has grown in recent years so has its internship program. With 10 offices in three states, the firm can provide many different internship opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

You can bet we're going to take full advantage on Professional Engineers Day and celebrate our team of awesome people. We asked a handful of our PEs to share their insight. Here's what they had to say.

A state revolving fund program enables a small city in the United States to install permeable pavers to reduce stormwater runoff, using interest payments from a water resource recovery facility upgrade project.

Manchester native Brian McWilliams returns home to work for Fehr Graham

Brian McWilliams joined Fehr Graham in June as a project engineer. In his role, McWilliams provides project design for various municipal projects, including wastewater treatment plants, utility extensions and street reconstruction. McWilliams has experience with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Department of Transportation and has a Grade II Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation Certification.

Roland White brings to Fehr Graham an extensive background in transportation and civil engineering, which includes 25 years of experience in private consulting, municipal engineering and higher education infrastructure management. Prior to joining the Fehr Graham team, he was a civil engineer with the University of Illinois and a city engineer with the city of Champaign.

Champaign, Illinois,has experienced a dramatic increase in population density and housing in "Campustown" - the area in and around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The changes resulted in much greater sanitary flows in sewer mains than when the sewers were originally planned and installed from1898 to1946.

Fehr Graham has hired Tom Glendenning as project manager. Glendenning has 35 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment and previously served as executive director of utility operations for the city of Freeport’s Water and Sewer Commission. His background and key certifications, such as Illinois Water Environment Association’s “Operator of the Year,” will help the firm enhance its innovative solutions around complex issues.

Fehr Graham, a leading Midwest engineering and environmental firm with 10 locations in three states, recently hired Anna Derocher as its marketing manager. In her new role, the 19-year digital news media veteran will oversee marketing and brand development efforts for Fehr Graham companywide. Prior to joining the Fehr Graham team, Derocher was managing editor at the Rockford Register Star and The Journal-Standard of Freeport in Illinois

April is World Landscape Architecture month, a month-long international celebration of landscape architecture and designed public and private spaces. As landscape architects, we are always trying to advocate and create an understanding of what we do. The perception of the industry is often that we simply provide the “green” to the site design once the planning, architecture, and engineering are complete. While we do provide the design for the placement of trees, plantings and ground cover, we also create safe and attractive spaces for people to interact, experience and move about.

Today's storm water management codes and ordinances often are an afterthought in site design - a necessary function to carry a project through construction permitting to lessen impacts downstream. Storm water best management practices (BMPs) typically are shoehorned into the space available after the buildings, parking lots, and other amenities are designed, and occupy the majority of the property. BMPs often are considered nuisances to developers who feel that they take up valuable real estate.

Engineers work hard to improve how people live. They design, maintain, repair, and build almost everything we need in our daily lives. This week we celebrate National Engineers Week, a time to highlight how engineers make a difference, increase awareness about the need for more engineers, and bring engineering to life for children, educators, and families.

We had a successful open house on Thursday, March 3 at our new Cedar Rapids office. Thanks to the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance for helping with the ribbon-cutting. We are looking forward to being a part of the continued growth of the greater Cedar Rapids area.

Water, to many, has always had a calming effect. Whether living by a lake or river, it always adds a degree of peacefulness. Water features are used in many places because they also add some life to an otherwise still landscape. In this video, landscape architect Tom Graceffa explains how the cafeteria patio and break area design at Woodward, a local aerospace manufacturer, was designed to provide a peaceful escape to their large staff, as well as some unique places to sit.

Planning Ahead - The Importance of a Street Condition Analysis in the Capital Improvement Planning Process

A city’s streets are its lifeblood. They can determine success or failure of businesses, extend the life of vehicles, facilitate commerce and emergency responses, and even provide the foundation for a community festival. Streets are extremely important to the day-to-day function of a community. When neglected and not properly maintained, the results are reflected in insurance claims from bent rims or flat tires, slows down delivery times, and reduced traffic in an area, hurting businesses. An important part of maintaining the key infrastructure in a community is proper planning.

Fehr Graham is pleased to announce the addition of Landscape Architect, Bill Schmidt, to the team. Bill joins Fehr Graham with over twenty-two years' experience, as principal designer and Sr. Project Manager, directing a landscape architecture studio in a multi-disciplinary firm in the Chicago area, as well as a private practice. Bill will provide his expertise in landscape architecture and lead projects throughout the Fehr Graham network and located in the Rockford, Illinois office.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $55.2 million in FY2016 brownfield grant funding to communities across the U.S. These funds will assist local governments and not-for-profit organizations assess, remediate, and redevelop brownfields properties. This article provides tips for your community to put its best foot forward when applying for brownfield grant funds.

As part of the revitalization of a community, there are times when an existing building is unfit and must be demolished in order to clean up the location for future development. In this video, Ross Grimes, Hydrogeologist, explains the stages of a USEPA Brownfields grant funded project in Freeport, Illinois. The building is being torn down in order to clean up the contaminated groundwater using a unique remediation process. Cheese whey will be introduced into the aquifer to treat volatile organic compounds from historical operations on the site.

The wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Fredericksburg, Iowa (population 927), has been in a state of transition. In recent years, a major industry left the community, while two other manufacturing productions facilities moved in. The industry changes significantly altered the WWTP's influent wastewater characteristics.

Most municipalities look to consultants after a safety inspector has found gaps in its safety programs or trainings. Gaps can lead to citations, fines, and unsafe working conditions. What most municipalities fail to realize is that truly effective safety programming and training must be customized to meet specific needs of the workplace. Thre is no "one-size-fits-all"

Fehr Graham has earned a spot on the Zweig Group Hot Firm List for the third year in a row. Fehr Graham ranked #72 on the prestigious list that identified the 100 fastest-growing privately held architecture, engineering, planning and environmental consulting firms in the United States and Canada. Placement on the list is based on both percentage revenue growth and dollar revenue growth over a three-year period compared to the other entrants.

Fehr Graham was twice a winner at the Annual Iowa Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) awards. Partnering with the City of Monona, Fehr Graham brought home an Honor Award for the City of Monona Aquatic Center permeable paver project. In addition, we also received a Merit Award for our Manchester Streets Project.

In honor of National Public Works Week, staff at a couple of our locations participated by writing opinion editorials to the local papers. Matt Johnson (Champaign), Fred Coombe (Springfield), and Noah Carmichael (Rochelle) wrote articles highlighting the vital public services such as water, electricity, and other infrastructure we often take for granted.

In their articles, they discuss how the demand on these public services has increased over the years and how public work employees and engineers use technology and infrastructure to meet these demands. They each mentioned the specific projects in their communities which contribute to the overall importance of infrastructure improvement in those areas and thank the public works employees for their contributions.

Matt Johnson, Branch Manager of the Champaign, Illinois office was awarded Rising Star status by Civil + Structural Magazine. This fifth annual Rising Stars in Civil Engineering and Rising Stars in Structural Engineering recognizes 25 professionals, 40 years old or younger working in the United States, who have shown exceptional technical capability, leadership ability, effective teaching or research, or public service benefiting the civil engineering profession, their employers, project owners, and society.

Fehr Graham is an engineering and environmental firm, and we look for an opportunity to be sustainable when possible, and our environmental staff took the opportunity this year to write about how to create a more environmentally-friendly world as well as celebrate how far we've come since the inception of Earth Day in 1970.

There are numerous companies these days who use hazardous chemicals in their manufacturing process. Between the chemicals processed, produced as a by-product, or otherwise used, companies are required to file special reports when meeting certain thresholds. One report, due every year on July 1 is the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Form R Report.

OSHA estimates that over 100,000 workers in general industry and maritime are exposed to silica levels that exceed the new permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 ug/m3(micrograms per cubic meter of air). OSHA’s previous PELs for silica were outdated, inconsistent and did not adequately protect worker health.

Construction industry employers are required to comply with the standard by June 23, 2017. Industrial Employers are required to comply with the standard by June 23, 2018.

Fehr Graham's Mick Gronewold writes a column in the March issue of North American Builder magazine on the climate of funding on the local, state, and federal level. In addition, he offers some helpful tips to provide the best possible chance at securing the funding available.

Between 1999 and 2011, six presidential disaster declarations were issued for Dubuque County, Iowa, due to increased epizodes of flash flooding in the area. With damage estimates nearing $70 million over the past decade, leaders in the city of Dubuque decided it was time to stand up to Mother Nature.

Avoiding Danger: The Role of Fork Lift Training in Your Safety Program

For anyone working in a public sector, or private industrial setting, operating or working around a powered industrial truck (PIT), more commonly referred to as a forklift or lift truck, is a part of the daily routine. Most operators have been trained on how to operate a forklift, but the safety aspect of the training isn’t always a priority.

According to OSHA statistics, forklifts are the cause of about 85 fatal accidents per year; 34,900 accidents that result in serious injury.

A Fehr Graham team led by Ken Plowman, Senior Engineering Technician from the Monroe office received a Project Engineer Award from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the construction management of a soldier pile retaining wall along State Highway 81 in Darlington, Wisconsin. Jesse Duff, Project Engineer from the Monroe office and Joe Stricker, Senior Engineering Technician from the Freeport Office were also key members of the project team.

Fehr Graham received an American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC-IL) Engineering Excellence Merit Award for two recent projects.

The first is the teaming up with the City of Rockford on the environmental cleanup of the former Ingersoll Building along the Rock River. The building is currently being redeveloped into the UW Health Sports Factory, a sports complex built primarily to attract and hold amateur sporting events for the purpose of boosting economic impact through tourism.

The second award was for intersection analysis and final design of the roundabout at Pearl City Road and Kiwanis Drive/Forest Road in Freeport, Illinois. The City of Freeport and Stephenson County collaborated on the project.

Joel Zirkle outlines how Rockford is reclaiming its city and the role Fehr Graham has played in the process, in the article titled “Reclaiming First: Like a Rock” that is featured in the current issue of Renewal & Redevelopment. You can read it in full here. Additionally, Joel was part of a feature story on WREX-TV locally about the overall redevelopment of downtown Rockford. It can be seen here.

Fehr Graham Featured in TPO - Treatment Plant Operator Magazine

Fehr Graham is featured in the December issue of TPO-Treatment Plant Operator™ Magazine, a monthly national publication dedicated to water and wastewater treatmentprofessionals. Team members, Jeremy Bril, Ph.D, Staff Engineer, and George TeKippe, P.E., Senior Project Manager, provided insight and solutions to help an Iowa wastewater treatment plant save money on electricity while resolving odor issues.

The article titled "Fine-Tuning Aeration" was featured in the How We Do It: Wastewater section.

If you were asked to perform an activity that had a 23% chance of causing you or someone else injury or death, would you? Then why drive distracted?

In this current non-stop culture, cell phones have become an extension of our body and our main means to keep in communication with home and work. The increase of cell phone use over the last decade has been great for productivity, or so we think, but created a very unsafe environment on our roads. Read Full Article.

Birdseye View of Wiscold Drive Project

Reaching New Heights! Fehr Graham provided design and construction observation services in partnership with the City of Rochelle on Wiscold Drive, an east side business park. The project, a partially-funded EDP project, supports local creation/retention of jobs, including some of the nation’s top food industry companies. The $2.5 million, 0.67-mile construction project, was completed this fall and Fehr Graham intern Tyler Jahn and his father provided a “birdseye view” of the finished roadway. VIEW VIDEO

Springfield, IL (December 3, 2015) – Fehr Graham, an Engineering and Environmental firm headquartered in Freeport, IL, with offices in ten locations, including Springfield and Champaign, announced today the acquisition of civil/structural engineering, and land surveying firm, Coombe-Bloxdorf P.C. of Springfield. For More Information ››

Fehr Graham Acquires Rockford Landscape Architecture Firm

ROCKFORD, IL (October 22, 2015) – Engineering and Environmental firm Fehr Graham today announced the acquisition of landscape architecture and planning firm, Thomas Graceffa and Associates, Inc. (TGA), of Rockford, Illinois. The acquisition adds landscape architecture to the full line of engineering and environmental offerings Fehr Graham currently provides to the Midwest market. With the acquisition, Fehr Graham’s Rockford branch has grown to 25 staff members.For More Information ››

Joel Zirkle Named to Chamber's 2015 Twenty People You Should Know

Joel Zirkle, Fehr Graham Principal Owner and Branch Manager of the Rockford Office was named to the Rockford Chamber of Commerce's 2015 Twenty People You Should Know. Zirkle was honored at a reception at the Prairie Street Brewhouse on Thursday, October 22, 2015. The Brewhouse is also the location of Fehr Graham's Rockford Office.For More Information ››

Fehr Graham Champaign Office Holds Open House

Fehr Graham celebrated the new offices in Champaign with a ribbon-cutting and reception. The team in Champaign relocated to a new office space located on the south side of Champaign at 1610 Broadmoor Drive.

“As we continue to grow in the Central Illinois market, we are excited to move to a building that will accommodate our growing staff,” said Matt Johnson, Branch Manager of the Champaign office. “The new building will help with our day-to-day operations and give staff the much needed space they need to conduct business.”

In this day and age, health and safety are in the forefront of everyone's mind. It is expressed through the healthier food decisions we are making, and by simply wearing a seatbelt. Why is this? There are many theories, but we at Fehr Graham believe it is because people are making a conscious decision to create a healthier and safer environment.

As a professional Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) company, we are hearing a refreshing change in mindset when speaking with clients and industryleaders. The once common statement often heard was, “Just tell me the minimum I have to do in order to be compliant with the law”. That dismissive philosophy is being replaced with the more proactive question “How do I get our employees to understand how important our safety & health program is?” read full story ››

Fehr Graham Receives Hot Firm Ranking for Fourth Time

Fehr Graham earned a spot on the Zweig Group Hot Firm List for the second year in a row, climbing six spots from their 2014 ranking.

Fehr Graham ranked #58 on the prestigious list that identified the 100 fastest-growing privately held architecture, engineering, planning and environmental consulting firms in the United States and Canada.Firms on the list are ranked according to their growth rate from 2011-2014, with 50 percent of the score being based on percentage growth and 50 percent based on dollar growth.

Complete Streets Programs Promote Access For All

A complete street is a road segment designed to be safe for drivers; bicyclists; transit vehicles and users; and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. The Complete Streets standards can benefit communities in many ways, and save money in the long run.
The Complete Streets concept is becoming more mainstream as communities make an effort to...read full story ››

We welcome four new faces to Fehr Graham. Ross Grimes (Environmental) has joined our Rockford office, and Justin Scheunemann (Environmental) and Bill Ripley (Safety) in our Plymouth office.

Three Safety Tips for the Job Site This Summer

A construction job site is like no other with an ever-changing work environment and varying tasks performed. Due to the multiple moving parts and components a job-site brings, the hazards faced on a daily basis can be dangerous. For the welfare of you, and those around you, keep safety a priority this construction season . . . read full story ››